Been running wireless for the past week; some systems handle it better than others

I have a really inexpensive wireless router made by Cisco - it's really a continuation of the WRT series of wireless routers, but it's the flat black, low laying model instead of the previous thin black and blue model with the two antennas on the side that Linksys used to make. They are really pretty much the same units with similar (low end, inexpensive) capabilities.

As a four connection hub, they work fine. I've had two or three, maybe once or twice, four systems wired into them and in that mode they work great. But ask them to actually work as a wireless router, and even within five to ten feet of them in direct line of site, I've experienced less than ideal performance. I think I may reset them and tune a few more parameters.

I just want to turn the darn thing on and leave it on indefinitely, then I want to be able to connect and disconnect as many times as I want without having to physically go to the stupid "black box" and power cycle it.

Maybe someone knows of the right parameters to set so that I don't have to do that practically every day. Also, I am currently running at 80% signal strength from where I am now and it's working OK, but inexplicably at 79-81% signal strength, the thing has dropped connections a half dozen times today.

I found that my network manager settings on Joli OS, a cloud-based system built from Ubuntu Lucid Lynx packaging, seems to work pretty well. If the stupid thing disconnects, Joli OS tries to connect again.

BTW, I just saw the signal drop to only 54% but then jump back up to 81%. Any idea what causes that? I am guessing interference from other things in the house, TV, electrical appliances, etc. If so, the wireless router is less than ten feet from a TV; not sure in my current location what I can do about that. It works, but it sure isn't optimal and is not even close to the performance I get when I am wired up. But then again, the network I am using these days has a maximum speed between 200-300 KBPS and I am used to networks with average rates around 1100 KBPS and peaks well over 2000 KBPS. Quite a difference! Oh well, when you are poor, some things HAVE to give and this is one of them!

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4 Comments

The antenna in a laptop is located in the cover. That cover is upright, and so is the built-in antenna. By the laws of physics, the receiving antenna (your router), and the transmitting antenna (your laptop) both have to be in the same vertical position or optimum operation. That means that they are both vertically polarized.

So, with flat horizontally placed pancake routers, it is a bad design. You lose a lot of your signal because the antennas of each unit are not polarized. One is horizontal, and the other is vertical. I always stick with routers which have one or two adjustable external vertical antennas. This gives you the opportunity to adjust those antennas for the optimal reception that works for you.

As far as your signal dropping, it could be due to something in the house, or some neighbor stealing Internet time from your system, if you are not running in a secure environment. You need a good firewall, and anti-virus programs. Your should be running your wireless with the name of your network (SSID) to not being transmitted. You should be using a secure key using WEP or the more secure versions. If your are in a congested city, and using cable Internet service, there is also a problem of too many people being anchored to that cable. This could also be a reason for your signal dropping.

If you are not using Linux, I'd suggest in looking into it. Many of the problems encountered with Windows, don't exist in the Linux world.

Thank you Gilbert. That information does help. I am located in the basement, and I have a laptop. The wireless router is in the Den, and it is one of those better looking, flat black models. I do have the two antenna style as well; I may give it a try and see how well it works. I have the same router name, password, authentication scheme, pretty much all settings configured the same way, and I only use one or the other. In this location, it sounds like the other unit may perform better, so I will try it out.

By the way, I always use WPA/PSK, which is the most secure option that my wireless router offers; that is WAY better than WEP, but at least WEP is slightly better than nothing. As far as other wireless networks, only one other node consistently shows up, with a third one once in a great while showing up. In my former apartment, there were frequently eight to ten wireless nodes, all with fairly good signals, showing up. We all had Comcast as our cable provider there. Here, there is a choice of Comcast or the WOW network. We have a WOW network with low end broadband (my mom really didn't need anything more powerful than reading Email and news; she never does video or any of that stuff, so her bandwidth requirements are quite low.

Right now, I am using a Linux distribution called antiX; it is a derivative of SimplyMEPIS; both are downstream Debian-based distributions. MEPIS, antiX, and Debian all seem to hold a signal well most of the time; I have wicd AND ceni as network managers and if there is a signal, they can keep it alive.

One thing that may have been interfering with the signal; my mom had her laptop top open; I closed it, recycled the router for good measure, and it has stayed up and operational ever since.

So if I have any other problems, I will switch routers and check it out again.

You could also try scanning for other wireless networks in the area. If you find any running on the same wireless channel, then they could be causing interference -- change your channel to some other value that isn't being used.

There are not many wireless networks that show up in this area; fewer than in my previous apartment by far, and I did not encounter channel interference there. I think the location of the router and the flat location (no protruding antenna) as mentioned by Gilbert are more likely causes of reception difficulties, plus the presence of another laptop - sometimes open) that may be interfering with the signal. It's working fine today, suggesting that the other laptop being open - especially if it was ON - may have been a source of blocking an effective signal. Two solutions, maybe three - move the router, switch to my other router, which has two antennas, or simply make sure the other laptop case is closed. I really don't think it is channel interference. Right now, good signal, and only one other visible connection in the area. Most I've seen, mine included, has been three, and that's only been a few times for short periods of time. So I think the most likely cause of problems is the other laptop being open and obscuring a good signal; when it's off and the router is reset, thinks seem to work much better.

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Most of the blog topics are Linux and open software related, but there may occasionally be entries about Project Management and ...
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Most of the blog topics are Linux and open software related, but there may occasionally be entries about Project Management and other technology subjects.
One interest I have is in describing and categorizing the multitude of Linux distributions and where they can be effectively used.
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